MVN - Most Valuable Network

Friends Clash a Mile High (Part 2)

Here are some interesting thoughts out there that may be more evident to fans of Longhorns football than others.  For those of you that remember Vince Young in burnt orange, you’ll recall that his jersey name bore “V. Young”.  (He wanted to wear the first initial in the NFL, but alas, there was no other Young on the Titans. Furthermore this tradition has been discontinued—look at the jerseys of Kyle and Tom Brady.)  What caused the necessity of the V?  The combined presence of running back Selvin Young in Austin.

Tonight, the two Youngs may be the biggest stories in the buildup to this game, even though their paths to the NFL took drastically different paths.

Another Longhorn connection to watch out for is defensive end Tim Crowder, another former teammate of both Vince and Selvin.  I’m sure that Crowder would love to re-acquaint himself with the Titans quarterback on the field of play.  The Broncos fans in attendance will surely be happy if he and others can get their hands on VY.

TITANS DEFENSE

I’ve been intentionally holding out on analysis of this unit, because its most dominant player by far has been in injury limbo this week.  Defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth sat out last week with a hamstring injury, and it looks like his status in Denver won’t be determined until game time.  At 6’ 6” and 320 pounds, Haynesworth will be more than a handful for the interior offensive line to take care of, and it will be a harbinger for the futures of Chris Kuper and Chris Myers in their hopes to pad or even succeed Tom Nalen and Ben Hamilton.

Haynesworth is not the only one on the defensive line that could wreak havoc.  The Titans have a trio of excellent pass rushers in Kyle Vanden Bosch, Antwan Odom, and Travis LaBoy that will be relentless in getting to Jay Cutler.  Hopefully Cutler has recovered enough from his leg contusion to regain mobility, because he may very well need it to avoid sacks.

Behind the line also features one of the league’s best and most consistent linebackers for a long time in Keith Bulluck.  Even if the Broncos gain an advantage in the trenches, Bulluck will fill up the holes unless he is also neutralized.  Fullback Cecil Sapp and the tight ends (particularly blocker Daniel Graham) will need to keep a close eye on Bulluck throughout the game.

The weak spot on a strong Titans defense may be in the secondary.  Former Colt Nick Harper is recovering from a concussion, and is just as questionable as Haynesworth at this point.  Rookie Michael Griffin looks to still be green, and it could be possible that a familiar name to the Broncos gets some action—Kelly Herndon.  He is a decent nickelback, but there are too many bad memories of getting his lunch eaten by the likes of Reggie Wayne playing any higher up.

As usual, the Broncos should establish the run with Selvin Young and Travis Henry (if he’s available).  IF they can succeed, eventually the Titans will have to draw strong safety Chris Hope into the box, and that could be the chance for Cutler to catch a slot receiver like Brandon Stokley or a tight end like Tony Scheffler in single coverage against Herndon or Reynaldo Hill.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 19th, 2007 at 4:43 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.